The Fallout Boy
by reraimu
Summary: He felt unwanted, Hiccup realized, as he rubbed his sleeve along his eyes. Toothcup SLASH. WARNING: ANGST, ANGST, ANGST.
1. Prologue

**Title: ****The Fall Out Boy**

**Fandom: ****HTTYD**

**Pairing: ****Toothcup (dragon!Toothless/Hiccup)**

**Rating: ****T **

**Preview Summary: ****He felt unwanted, Hiccup realized, rubbing his sleeve along his eyes.** **dragon!Toothless/Hiccup Toothcup. ANGST.**

**Actual Summary:** **The bond between Toothless and Hiccup is dwindling. Toothless has grown to resent Hiccup for having lost his ability to fly and be free, and Hiccup is left bemused and broken to the dragon's unwarranted change in attitude. **

**Disclaimers: ****I do not own HTTYD or any of its characters, nor do I gain any profit from writing this story. The plot is mine however.**

**WARNING!**** This is SLASH, between Toothless and Hiccup, a boy and his dragon, and yes, Toothless is in dragon form. Whatever. Please don't flame if you hate this pairing. Why did you even click the story? Just please hit the back button or punch your monitor, both will do nicely.**

**Warning again! The romance will only reveal itself VERY SUBTLY, LIKE NON-EXISTANT, but it's there. And it will get more pronounce MUCH LATER. I'm the kind of person that likes drawn out romances instead of those bim-bam-boom ones. **

**A/N:**** Anyway, please read, enjoy, and review! Any feedback is appreciated, besides flames of course.**

**Flamers can go die in a butt hole.**

**Prologue: When Everything Was Good.**

Hiccup stood upon the precipice of the serrated cliff beneath him, staring calmly out at the frothing waves below and the waning sun in the distance. The wind lapped violently at the nape of his neck, sending russet locks of hair billowing about in the breeze. He smiled to himself, despite the pain in his left limb where the rest of his leg should have been, and breathed a sigh of content. Nearly a week had passed since he had woken up to the loss of his lower limb. The prosthetic he now sported was certainly a hindrance and he had much to get used to, but it was merely an occupational hazard. The loss of his limb had at first been viewed rather disconcertingly, but now, as he mulled it over and realized that not only did this loss symbolize his inner strength, but also his valor and most importantly the bond shared between himself and the dragon that had aided him.

A low trill resounded from behind the teen and Hiccup grinned, turning round to greet his friend. Toothless trotted contentedly from the foliage and shrubbery beyond, letting loose a rumbling purr that reverberated from his throat and thrummed about him. The mighty beast halted beside Hiccup and rested back on his haunches, nuzzling the wedge of his head at Hiccup's side. The boy laughed and scratched the place behind Toothless' ears, earning a satisfied rumble of bliss from the dragon.

"I can't believe how well things have gotten," Hiccup mused, chuckling when Toothless nudged him once more. He caught the gaze of the dragon and smiled, leaning against him. Toothless warbled and blinked the green of his eyes, before adjusting his pupiless optics on Hiccup. "It's like a dream-come-true, having everyone accept you guys. Sometimes I think about how things could have gone…"

Toothless crooned when Hiccup shuddered against him, losing himself in the upsetting scenario. The teen shook his head and straightened himself, scratching Toothless right beneath the chin. "But it isn't like that buddy, fortunately for us we had luck on our side."

Toothless' ears dropped, but he rumbled in agreement.

**A/N: So there we go, the dreaded Prologue—I have a love-hate relationship with prologues. They annoy me to no end, yet they're needed. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. The next couple of chapters will be short, but it gets longer, trust me. Any reviews will be very much appreciated! Thanks!**

**-Tweekerz.**


	2. Rejected

**Chapter 1: Rejected.**

_3 Months Later._

He snorted when a Terrible Terror got a bit too close for his liking, parting his mouth and spilling a trail of sonic blue flame that nearly singed the tip of the Terror's tail. The little dragon yipped and flew away, a half eaten fish caught between his claws. Toothless growled and lowered his head once more to the ground.

The hollow cave he was situated in wasn't very large, but suitable for his size, and it offered an excellent view of the ocean and the sky. The dragon peered out across the vast expanse of sea, purring as the sun sunk lower and lower amid the horizon. Astounding blotches of purple and pink smeared the sky, entwining together to create sultry reds and warm oranges. Toothless groaned lightly, his eyes trained on the graceful swoop of a seagull dipping through the air, wings spread wide and feathers ruffling in the breeze. The dragon let out a contemptuous snarl, optics narrowing into black harrowing slits.

He should have been out there, flying through the air without a care in the world. He should have been out there twirling and frolicking amid the clouds, swooping in and out of the water without having the burden of…

Hiccup.

Toothless growled once more, a low guttural growl that trebled unpleasantly at the back of his throat. This feeling was new to him, a gauche fleeting emotion that left an acrid taste in his mouth—contempt, he realized. At what, he didn't really know or care to figure out, but as each day passed he found himself growing angrier.

The dragon peered out the corner of his bulbous eye and anchored a glowering glare at his tailfin. With disdain, he flicked his tail against a nearby boulder and snorted, an image of a smiling Hiccup flashing across his mind. He didn't like this feeling- no, he didn't care for it much, but he couldn't help but feel irate whenever Hiccup was near, or whenever he was constantly reminded of the boy when he stared out into the sky.

Because of course, if it hadn't been for Hiccup, he'd still be out there flying like that bird.

Toothless snarled.

**A/N: Oh gaaaawd, short chapter. So sorry, they'll get longer later on, promise. But at least it's in Toothless' point of view.**


	3. Fish

**Chapter 2: Fish**

_A couple of weeks later._

"Toothless? Toothless!"

The dragon paid no heed to Hiccup's calls and remained staring at the sky, idly watching the clouds drift by while the occasional roaming dragon slipped in and out view. Hiccup heard Toothless groan faintly, before the dragon turned round and deftly trotted towards the boy. Hiccup furrowed his brow and frowned at the creature, before shrugging off the dragon's odd behavior. He smiled at Toothless and presented the cod he had hidden behind his back, throwing the hunk of dead fish towards the dragon. Toothless watched it soar through the air before it plopped abhorrently to the ground, Toothless letting out a snort before trudging away from the thing.

"Hey!" Hiccup scowled after him, taking a hefty chunk from his own roasted fish. "I actually caught it this time instead of taking it from the reserve!"

Toothless snorted once more and took off, leaving a very bemused Hiccup.

* * *

Hiccup stood at the center of the clearing, scanning his eyes along the jagged surface of the cove's cliffs. He huffed a tuft of air and plopped himself on a nearby boulder, throwing the extra piece of fish to the ground.

He was hoping he'd catch Toothless here and spend a bit of time with the dragon, but much to his chagrin, the dragon was nowhere to be seen. He sighed and took a bite out of his steamed fish, chewing the meat slowly in his mouth. He swallowed the morsel and placed his half eaten fish beside him, hunching forward so that his forearms rested on the length of his thighs. A rustle in the distance startled him and Hiccup immediately sprang from his seat on the boulder. He stared ahead at him, where Toothless stealthily crept out from the shield of the forest and leisurely sauntered to an elevated rock structure. The dragon gouged the sharp points of his talons against the surface of the rock, expertly hoisted himself up, and promptly took a seat, puffs of warm air trailing from his nostrils.

"Toothless, bud! Where did you go today?" Hiccup called, trotting the distance from his own boulder to Toothless. Hiccup frowned when he looked up at Toothless, who was regarding him with a faint glower to his eyes. It wasn't as if the dragon was glaring at him, but it didn't look like he was too keen to see the boy. Hiccup shifted his weight and awkwardly shuffled his feet about the ground, his fingers fiddling with themselves by the hem of his tunic. "So, um, what's up? I got you a fish!"

Hiccup happily whirled around and sprinted towards the forgotten fish, hastily scooping it up from the ground. He ran back towards Toothless, a giddy smile on his face, but his grin wavered when he looked back up at the rock structure and found Toothless had gone.

Hiccup dropped the fish and it landed with a deft thump against the sand.

**A/N: Hiccup is my all-time favorite character right now. He's just so fucking adorable. -spazz-**

**Sorry for the short chapter.**


	4. Lines in the Sand

**Chapter 3:**

_A month and half later._

Hiccup sat at the edge of the lake, the darkness about the cove creeping up on him and eventually blanketing him. The moon up above peered from behind a gray cloud and cast a bit of light on the surface of the lake, but besides that, it was pitch black. Hiccup retrieved a nearby stick and poked the tip of it into the sand, dragging it about the earth until a set of lines and designs trailed from the point.

He had been sitting at the cove for nearly four hours now, hoping to catch a glimpse of Toothless. Hiccup had a feeling the dragon was angry with him for whatever reason, and Hiccup really didn't know why, but he was determined to find out. He couldn't help feeling hurt and dejected whenever Toothless would snort and snarl at him, even when Hiccup offered him fish or the tempting promise to go out for a ride.

Hiccup sniffled and prodded at the sand with the stick, trying to quell the well of tears stinging at the corners of his eyes. He swallowed and chucked the stick out into the lake, watching it drift silently along the ebbing current until he lost sight of it altogether. He felt unwanted, Hiccup realized, rubbing his sleeve along his eyes. Sure, he had felt like this before when he had still been the social pariah of the Village (not like he wasn't now, but at least his status had been marginally raised), and he never expected to warrant it from his best friend, his Toothless.

Hiccup would spend another hour sitting alone in the darkness of the grotto before he would man it back home by himself.

**A/N:  
**

Please review? Don't worry, the next chapter is longerrrrrrrrrrr o-o


	5. Missing

**Chapter 4: Missing.**

_One month later.  
_

Hiccup couldn't tell you how much his life has changed since that day—really, he couldn't. He would probably have to think up of ways to elaborate the tale and plump it up with stimulating feats of accomplishment, but he still wouldn't do that either. Making things simpler would suffice, and you know what they always say anyway, less is more. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third had gone from wanting to kill dragons to befriending the beasts his village had hated so, and it was all in part to the dreaded Night Fury, the one who had stalked and hunted the Isle of Berk along with the Terrible Terrors and malicious Nadders, the "elusive one" they had called him: Toothless. Hiccup knew that the name wasn't a very formidable one, but at the time it suited the dragon, and really, that was all that had come to mind. The teen had been too scared out of his wits trying to preserve his life while his rabid curiosity got the best of him—he wouldn't have had it any other way.

"Hiccup, get your butt over here!"

The teen in question scrambled around his room and scuttled towards his dresser, quickly throwing on a shoddy pair of leggings, boots and his trusted tunic. Fingers mussing through his auburn hair, his way of a makeshift brush, Hiccup then fluttered to his window and promptly stuck his head out. He smiled down at the irritated expression on Astrid's face, her cheeks flushed and the fringe of her bangs ghosting across her forehead. She had a hand to her hip and haughty pose to her figure—she was clearly getting impatient.

"I'll be right there Astrid!" Hiccup called down to her, flashing another toothy grin when she merely rolled her eyes and scoffed. Hiccup withdrew from the window and wobbled out his bedroom, clambering down the stairs as fast as his prosthetic limb would let him. His leg had been much of a hindrance the first couple of weeks since the whole Green Death fiasco, but as time passed, he had steadily learned to maneuver himself just fine around the village. The prosthetic tired him out on occasions and he was usually left breathless and sore by the end of the day, but it wasn't something he couldn't stand. Besides, Hiccup mused, Gobber had it worse what with all that weight to support. At times like these, Hiccup was relieved his form resembled that of a talking fishbone.

Hiccup finally threw open the door to his house and jaggedly trotted outside. Despite her aggravation towards him, Astrid let a spunky smile scrawl across her lips and walked to meet him. As soon as the girl was beside him, Astrid punched Hiccup's arm.

"Ow!" Hiccup cried indignantly, rubbing the bruised flesh along his arm. He glowered at her and stuck out his tongue. "What was that for?"

"That's for being late, stupid," Astrid stated, her brow furrowed. Her expression softened and she clasped his shoulder with the palm of her hand. "And you shouldn't be running down the stairs, you ditz. Remember what happened last time?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes at the girl and shrugged her hand away. He began to trek down the cobble-lined streets towards the Village square, where all the dragons usually congregated to get a bite to eat. "That was an accident. I was able to fix the hole in the stairs and I only got away with a bruise, no big deal."

"Pfft, yeah, if Toothless hadn't been there," Astrid snorted, shooting Hiccup a curt glare. She laughed at him and shook her head, the golden braid of her hair shaking along with her laugh. Astrid closed her lips when Hiccup stilled at the mention of the dragon's name. She bit her lip at her mistake and averted her gaze, concern furrowing her expression. "Sorry Hiccup."

"It's fine," Hiccup answered with a forced smile. He whirled around and stuck his tongue out at her, chuckling when she raised a slender brow. Astrid laughed at him and patted his back.

"Sure," she said sardonically. Hiccup watched Astrid scan her blue eyes about her, coasting her head from side to side. She finally looked at him and raised one fine brow. "Where is he anyway?"

Hiccup licked his lips and took a moment to process her question, before shrugging his shoulders and brushing a few strands of hair from his face. He turned to her. "I dunno."

Astrid stared at him apprehensively, a questioning look to her face. "You don't know? I know you two haven't been exactly chummy these last couple of months, but now he's disappearing on you?"

"Well, I mean sometimes it's hard getting a hold of him, but he shows up at night sometimes, or in the morning!" Hiccup explained, not at all inquisitive about the circumstance. The first two months since the Green Death, when everything had been wonderful and excellent between Hiccup and Toothless, the dragon had taken permanent residence in the teen's room where he hung from the rafter's by his tail. Since Toothless started acting generally irritated towards Hiccup, the teen tried to cover up the gradual rift in their friendship and played it off towards the other villagers.

He even started to cover up the fact that Toothless no longer slept in his bedroom any longer—the boy had no idea where the Night Fury was sleeping now. Hiccup would often fend off any suspicions thrown at him concerning both he and the dragon, and whenever someone inquired about the dwindling amount of time they spent together, Hiccup lied through his teeth. The teen disregarded the fact that Toothless had been coming and going more frequently than before, but who was he to put the dragon on a leash and curfew—he certainly didn't own him in that way. Toothless was more of a best friend than anything else, considering if the dragon even saw him as a friend anymore. After all, he didn't want to pester the dragon, not when he was obviously so irate towards the boy. However, the saddest thing about this whole dilemma: Hiccup had no idea why the dragon was so hostile towards him.

Hiccup felt jilted.

Astrid shot Hiccup a wary look but quickly let the subject drop. "He does know we have a highly important flight today, right? Shouldn't he be here by now?"

"You worry too much Astrid, he's prolly' down in the Square already," Hiccup chirped, almost tripping over his prosthetic. He chuckled and flashed a small smile at Astrid, before continuing along his way. Astrid merely shook her head and meandered after him.

**~xxx~**

"Argh! Where is he?"

Astrid clambered after a hysterical Hiccup who was busy raving and waving his hands about the air, entangling his fingers into the strands of his hair and gouging his nails into his scalp. The frazzled teen was wide-eyed and frantic and was very much losing his mind.

"He isn't here Astrid! Why isn't he here?" Hiccup blurted, grabbing the girl by her shoulders. She grimaced at his tight hold but managed to let a tentative smile spread across her pursed lips. She really didn't know what to say to him, really she didn't. She wanted to be able to calm him and whisper soothing words to him, like a good woman should, but she wasn't very much of a flowery lady in the first place—let's just say she wasn't born to knead bread in the kitchens.

"I'm sure he'll come any minute now," Astrid strained, placing her own hand on his shoulder. Hiccup bit his lip and looked at her with trembling jade eyes, his gaze never wavering. Toothless more or less was always there whenever they had to retreat on a mission, although grudgingly. Now whenever Hiccup rode him, the two didn't mesh well.

'_Actually, he's the one who doesn't mesh well with me anymore_,' Hiccup thought morosely. About two months ago, Hiccup decided to accept the fact that Toothless was no longer seeing him as a friend anymore, even though it pained Hiccup to even think of such a thing. Hiccup however, still saw Toothless as his best friend; he'd forever remain his best friend.

"You know how important this voyage is Astrid, I can't miss it," Hiccup panicked, his voice cracking. "This is _**our**_ first diplomatic summit with a neighboring tribe—dad's gonna' be so pissed if I miss this. I can't. I just can't."

"You mean a _practice_ diplomatic summit- look, Hiccup," Astrid spoke up, the tone of her voice comforting, yet strangely assertive. "There are other meetings. So what if the famed Dragon Tamer isn't there, you can always go with Toothless the next time, right, when it really counts?"

Hiccup stared incredulously at her, completely flabbergasted. "Did you forget who my father is?"

Astrid instantly paled and bit at her lip, placing her hand to her forehead. "Odin, save us."

"No duh!" Hiccup barked at her, tugging at the strands of his hair. Astrid furrowed her brow and opened her mouth to protest, but immediately decided against it by the expression schooled on Hiccup's face. He looked fairly perturbed and almost feral-looking—was he really that scared of disgracing his father again, or was there something else he was more afraid of?

"He'll understand Hiccup, I mean, you did save us all from a perilous doom," Astrid breathed, pressing her forehead to Hiccup's. She embraced him in a brief hug. "Why don't you just ride another dragon for now? Toothless can wait here until we return, the brute."

Hiccup let out a miserable whine and trudged over to a nearby boulder, plopping himself down upon its coarse exterior. He drew his knees together and placed his head in his hands, strands of auburn hair lacing with his fingers. They had at last made it to the Village Square and were surrounded by a multitude of mid-flight dragons, leathery wings sweeping across the sky. An occasional blast of fire would rocket through the air before extinguishing in a cloud of ash and black smoke, but all of this went unnoticed by Hiccup who was too busy sulking to notice the frolic and fun between dragon and dragon rider. He wished it were he in the sky riding on Toothless, laughing and having fun the way they used to.

"I can't just ride another dragon," he muttered miserably, craning his neck to look up at Astrid. She frowned down at him, sweeping the fringe from her eye. "For one, not only am I supposed to go as the Dragon Tamer, but as the rider of a freaking Night Fury! We're supposed to be building relations with these people, we have to live up to the hype. I can't go empty handed Astrid, especially when they know how… wimpy I am." Hiccup winced at the word.

Astrid let out a weary sigh and bent down, meeting Hiccup at eye level. She mussed his hair and smiled a sloppy grin. "Hiccup, you know you're anything but wimpy, a little scrawny, but not wimpy. Don't beat yourself up, and stop being paranoid. Just sit this one out for now, okay? The next official summit is next month, and by then, you'll be roaring to go!"

Hiccup looked away from her, his eyebrows knit, and pressed his hands into the swell of his lap. He looked up at her again, frowned, and then nodded solemnly. Astrid leaned down and gave him one last hug and a tentative punch to the shoulder, before retreating at the sound of Stoik yelling out a command by the docks. The traveling party, consisting of the Twins, Fishlegs, Snotlout Astrid, and a handful of villagers, hopped onto their own respective dragons and ships, saddling up and preparing for the lengthy excursion to the neighboring island situated about 60 miles east from Burk. Hiccup immediately sprang up and jogged towards his father, who was busy bellowing commands and orders to the crew and voyaging parties.

"Somebody left tha sack o'dried fish by tha dock!" Stoik bellowed over the chatter and dragon roars echoing about the boarding dock. His mighty arms issued this way and that, gesturing orders to almost anyone within the vicinity, as his thick beard shuttered with each yell of his command. He was an impressive leader, Stoik the Vast, and rather daunting.

"Um, dad?" Hiccup hollered, his voice rising in volume.

"No, no, ya' fools, tha' barrel isn't suppose'ta go ova' there—oh, ya Hiccup?—someone untie tha' knot!"

"Dad?" Hiccup called again when Stoik turned away from him, issuing another set of commands to Gobber. Stoik turned his head at Hiccup's call and regarded his son with a quizzical eye.

"Aren't ya' suppose'ta be ready ta go wit' tha' devil?" Stoik asked precariously while stroking the vast mane of his beard. Hiccup sagged his shoulders and prepared for the worst.

"Uh, ya' see, that's the problem," Hiccup relayed, twiddling his fingers at the hem of his tunic. "He's kinda' not here at the moment."

"Wot are ya' sayin' m'boy?" Stoik asked guardedly, the tone of his voice on edge. He stared down at his son with a glower to his beady eyes, meaty arms placed at his sides.

"Look, he's not here," Hiccup began quickly, gesturing with his arms. "I don't where he is and I don't have enough time to go look for him and I just can't leave him here alone on the- ."

"This is very disconcertin' Hiccup," Stoik interrupted, swiping the palm of his hand along the length of his coarse face. He sighed. "Even if this is a practice summit, you gotta' go. I can't jus' leave ya' here alone, son, not for three weeks."

"But dad, I can't!" Hiccup pleaded, threading his fingers through his hair. "I can't leave Toothless here by himself either, not for that long! He'll prolly' get mad that we left him, and considering he can't fly…"

"No, Hiccup, you 'ave ta go," Stoik affirmed, pushing Hiccup aside. "We can't afford ta slip relations wit' these people. Night Fury or not, you're comin' wit' us. You migh' as well ride anotha' dragon fo' now."

"No, no, no, no, no!" Hiccup shouted, trotting after his father at a brisk pace. "Dad, I can't leave him here. I know he'll get angry, and if he does, who knows what he might do? He could set fire to a house, or do something equally as worse- !"

"Fine, fine!" Stoik hollered, turning round to glower at his son. His expression softened marginally. "Fine then, you can stay 'ere, but you **are** going ta tha next summit; tha' one's crucial. I'll just tell 'em you 'ad important dragon duties or somethin'. Mind yerself an' the village, ya' hear?" And with that, Stoik the Vast retreated to a nearby ship and returned to issuing instructions.

"You got it dad!" Hiccup bellowed after him. "I won't get myself into trouble, promise!" Relieved that the conversation with his father hadn't turned sour, Hiccup took no time in waiting for the ships and dragons to set sail, and promptly ran off. He lightly jogged back to his own home and ran inside, hoping that Toothless had come back by now and was waiting within, but as he checked both floors of his home, Hiccup found it as empty as he had left it. The boy hastily ran back outside with a frown marring his features. He huffed a puff of air and swiped the sweat leaking down the sides of his face, piquing his head to survey the sky.

"Geez, where is he?" Hiccup asked himself, pressing his forearm to his forehead to block out the sunlight. His eyes traveled to the woodland lying beyond the village and his heart began to palpitate. He had an inkling that Toothless might be plundering that impenetrable throng of foliage and shrubbery, and if and when Hiccup found him, Toothless was going to receive quite an earful. Sighing, the young Viking rerouted and headed towards the forest.


	6. Lost and Found

**A/N: Hey! Sorry for not updating this in foreverrrr. Lack of internet can do that to a person. Forgive me! Anyway, here's the next chapter. :]**

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* * *

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**Chapter 5:**

He knew he was supposed to be there.

He knew the importance of the voyage, knew he'd probably be in immense trouble for not being there, but Toothless ignored the warning flags. He wouldn't let Hiccup or the rest of the tribe have the privilege of flaunting him about to strangers, not if the dragon could help it. Sure, he may be permanently grounded, but Toothless was still the formidable, illusive dragon he always was.

Sitting at his perch at his clandestine cave, Toothless indifferently watched the ships disembark from Berk. He knew Hiccup was on one of those ships, probably forced by Stoik to tag along despite his absence. The dragon snorted at the thought, tendrils of blue flame seeping from his parted mouth. He had finally gotten Hiccup to surrender his relentless struggle of mending their friendship. Over the past months, Toothless had brooded and mulled over his circumstances, had let his mind fester with stirrings of contempt, lament and resentment—all directed towards the one that made him feel that way in the first place: Hiccup. In the dragon's mind, Hiccup had been his downfall- a dragon unable to fly, preposterous. He had never heard of such a thing until he had to experience it first hand, and by a clumsy teenage boy no less.

He disregarded the fact that he used to adore the boy in the beginning, had wanted to be by his side every waking moment, to let Hiccup glide him through the air—to be contented and happy just by the teen's presence alone. He remembered all the times they used to spend together, just lying about lazily in the sun, eating savory morsels of fish while generally enjoying each other's company. Toothless had to admit, there was an occasional ache and longing he would sometimes feel when he saw Hiccup, but the dragon would quickly dismiss it and instead replaced those emotions with bitterness and scorn. He reminded himself persistently, chanted a mantra even: _It's his fault. He's the one that caused you to loose your ability to fly. __**His entire fault.**_

And Toothless would let himself drown in those cynical thoughts, not at all perturbed at the level of loathing he had let consume him. So finally, with en entire three weeks liberated, free from the hustle and bustle of the villagers, free from Hiccup, Toothless lowered his head and prepared for an evening of sleep.

**

* * *

**

Hiccup trudged heatedly back towards the village, his pace brisk and swift. He had spent the better half of the day searching what he could for Toothless, scourging the forest for any signs or trails of the dragon. Wherever Toothless was, he had a pretty good hiding spot—Hiccup didn't know whether he should congratulate the dragon for his illusiveness or be livid at him for making the teen plunder the forest for hours on end. By nightfall, he had finally made it back to his own compound and hastily clambered up the stairs. His footsteps echoed about the shack as he made it to his bedroom, where he then kicked open his door and trudged inside.

His room was empty, he noted cheekily, as it had been for the past couple of months since Toothless started disappearing at night. At the time, Hiccup had been bemused and very much upset that the Night Fury no longer intended to sleep alongside him—oh yes, Hiccup remembered all too well. The boy had waited up all night for Toothless, the teen sitting at his window sill, looking out into the darkness and searching for any tell-tale signs of iridescent scales and sparks of blue flame. Two weeks had past and Astrid convinced Hiccup that whether he liked it or not, Toothless wasn't going to be sleeping with him any longer. Hiccup couldn't understand it—what had he done wrong? Before, the dragon would either hang by the rafters or curl up by the center of Hiccup's bed, his tail occasionally thumping against the wooden bedpost, and Hiccup could genuinely tell that Toothless enjoyed sleeping beside him, and vice versa.

Hiccup huffed and shook the memories from his head, a frown replacing the reminiscence he had been absorbed in. The memories he shared with Toothless, the good ones, always seemed to warm him somehow. They made him feel light and content and overall lost in the ambience of it all, but when his thoughts started to drift and his memories shifted tempo, Hiccup would often get heralded by a flood of images of Toothless snarling at him, nipping at him—ignoring him, as if they'd never been friends in the first place, and a weighted lump would take place in his heart. Hiccup was getting beyond frustrated at the dragon's conduct, and it was making him quite restless to know that he was doing something horribly wrong, enough to warrant evasion from Toothless: his best friend.

Hiccup propped his head against the desk situated in the living quarters of his house, huffing a puff of breath and scuffling the pages of paper littered about the desk surface. They were all drawings of Toothless, some of them fairly recent and all done in a pasty charcoal. On the contrary, he hadn't given up on drawing the dragon, Hiccup realized with a small smile, but the teen was starting to worry when he'd eventually give up on Toothless altogether. He had already given up trying to make amends with the dragon, though Hiccup still didn't know why he was getting treated so horribly from said Night Fury, and he was really starting to doubt if they'd ever be friends again. Hiccup frowned at the thought.

He didn't want that to happen. Ever.

Hiccup straightened himself against the back of his chair and slammed a fist down upon the desk, vibrations shooting across the age-old wood up through his fingertips.

"I can't let that happen," Hiccup whispered angrily, his features softening. "I can't loose my best buddy."

* * *

Hiccup was startled from sleep by a horrendous roar.

The boy shot up from his bed, hair all askew and unkempt, and practically sprang from under his woolen blankets. Heart pounding at a rapid rhythm, the young Viking hastily hopped over to his prosthetic limb and fastened it to his leg. With a shaky breath, Hiccup wobbled over to his window and threw it open, poking his head outside. Another loud roar resounded in the distance, and Hiccup realized that it was a particularly familiar roar, all potent and dominant and wholly majestic- his heart nearly leapt out his chest.

Toothless.

"He's here!" Hiccup shouted in elation. He withdrew from the window and quickly gathered a set of leggings and a gray tunic, forgetting the fitted woolen vest in his haste. When he was fully clothed, Hiccup bounded down the stairs as fast as his prosthetic allowed him. Kicking open the front door, Hiccup barreled across the cobble-lined streets and out into the constricted, twisting roads of the Village. The teen looked up towards the sky; hope quivering across his eyes as he increased his speed, the metal point of his prosthetic trouncing against the stone ground.

If he'd been listening correctly, he guessed the roar was coming from somewhere farther along the island. He would have liked it to come from the grotto, but no such luck. However, with a solid resilience and a swiftly growing determination, Hiccup continued his course and plundered into the forest. He trampled over rotting wood and scaled across gnarled tree roots, his prosthetic limb occasionally snagging against a serrated piece of rock. Despite these trivial setbacks, Hiccup kept at it until another grandiose roar rung out across the sky, this time accompanied by an abrupt blast of cobalt flame. His heart palpating at an unruly speed, Hiccup nearly yelped in delight and ran towards the blast, the Night Fury's howl ringing in his ears and propelling him onwards.

After an undetermined amount of time, Hiccup halted before an unusual clearing spotted with broken tree trunks and flattened vegetation, most of it charred beyond recognition. A lofty rock cliff about 100 feet high stood at the opposite end of the clearing, standing stark against the battered foliage. Squinting his eyes, Hiccup noted that there was a definite fissure at the very top of the looming rock barricade, looking decidedly hollow and shady, as if something lived there.

This was proven in an instant. A loud bellow rang across the clearing, the resonance pending from the cavern in the wall, and swirls of coagulated smoke filtered about the atmosphere above. Hiccup stared up with wide eyes, his bangs cascading across his forehead as he pressed his forearm to his face.

Toothless was definitely up there, that he was sure of.

"Toothless!" Hiccup cried, happiness clouding over him.

And everything seemed to still. The birds stopped chirping, the clearing turned silent, and even the rustle of the trees seemed to quiet. Hiccup watched as the last tendrils of smoke died out and dissolved into the air, and waited patiently for Toothless to appear.

He didn't.

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**A/N: I'm torturing Hiccup aren't I? Usually I make bad stuff happen to the weaker characters in my fanfics, but don't worry, nothing horrible will happen to Hiccup…or will it? :O**

**Please review guys! They make me happy and productive. :]**


	7. Giving Up

**A/N: Please enjoy this chapter!**

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**Chapter 6**

"Hey! I know you're up there!" Hiccup yelled, tensing his shoulders. With still no reply from the Night Fury, Hiccup huffed. "Toothless!" Hiccup waited another couple of seconds for the dragon to respond, anything really—a chirp, a yip, even an angry snarl, as long as Toothless acknowledged the human's presence.

'_He can't just ignore me,_' Hiccup thought discordantly. '_He can't! He wouldn't do that, I finally found him…' _Hiccup's face sunk, his stomach dropping—the dragon had been ignoring him for the past several months, and it finally seemed to sink in. Hiccup stood at the hub of the clearing before the looming rock hedge, a frown to his lips and a quiver to his eyes. Tears began stinging at the corners of his eyes and Hiccup hurriedly brushed them away with a sweep of his hand.

"What is wrong with you?" Hiccup hissed, his hands forming into fists at his sides. He craned his neck and glared upwards, his gaze roving everywhere- without anything to glare at, it was difficult directing his rage. "Do you even know how worried I've been, how exhausted I've become? For a whole freaking month I waited up every night for you to come home—I still do sometimes!" Hiccup hauled in a wad of air, his chest heaving as he frantically tried to keep up with his ragged breathing.

"I never see you anymore!" Hiccup groaned solemnly, his voice cracking. "I don't see you all day unless you're needed for training or something, and even when I do, you…y-you… Show yourself! Come out Toothless, let me see you at least! Please? Buddy?" Hiccup's voice had gone frantic by now, his tone pleading and feeble. He took careful, measured steps towards the rock barricade, placing the palm of his hand against its coarse surface as he tepidly tapped the pads of his fingers along the rock. Hiccup lowered his voice into a breathy whisper. "I wish I knew what I did wrong. Toothless?"

The dragon snarled at the boy's use of his name, and Hiccup stilled, relishing the sound. Even though it was a snarl and not the happy yip he had wanted to receive, Hiccup sighed and placed his forehead against the cool surface of the stone, turning his head to one side. He sagged his shoulders and leaned into the rock, dragging his weight with him.

"We had a summit to go to today, an important one, but it was only practice," Hiccup muttered against the rock wall. "You knew that, didn't you?" Another snarl resounded from the fissure high above, and Hiccup trembled. He still wasn't used to hearing such angry sounding noises, even though he'd been receiving them for nearly four months now. There was a part of him that wanted to forget Toothless on the whole and reciprocate the dragon's rude behavior back to him, a part of him that wanted to take part in the true Viking manner and beat some sense into the dragon, but Hiccup would never do that—he cared for Toothless far too much to do that to him. "I love ya' buddy."

After a few moments of deafening silence, Hiccup swallowed and removed himself from the stone barricade. With a show of resilience, Hiccup loosened his shoulders and looked up.

"Fine!" he bellowed, emotion seeping through his voice. "If you won't come down, I'll come up." With a shaky breath, Hiccup threw his arms out in front of him and grasped a jutting rock ledge. Hiccup carefully lifted his prosthetic limb and gouged the metal tip into a nearby crevice, altogether hoisting himself up. The teen familiarized with the motions and repeated the pattern, and soon he found himself nearly halfway up, his face flushed and warm.

"I'm almost up," Hiccup called, raising his hand to grasp at another jutting piece of rock. Hiccup halted when he heard the dragon move. From the cavern above him, Hiccup heard the clipping of rock being shuttled across the stone ground, either from Toothless' paws or from the swishing of his tail. Hiccup hung still, shifting his fingers into another wider crevice and placed his prosthetic in a deep, gouged groove. Toothless growled up above, loose and guttural, and Hiccup heard him snarl. There was a momentary feeling of fear that hastily rose within the boy, but Hiccup pushed the fleeting emotion away—he wasn't going to be afraid of his best friend.

Right when Hiccup was going to hoist himself up once more, a shadow in the sky blocked out the sunlight and silhouetted the young Viking. Hiccup squealed when Toothless' elongated tail wrapped around his waist and plucked him from the stone wall, and both dragon and Viking descended gradually to the ground. Toothless dropped to all fours and unceremoniously deposited Hiccup to the hard-packed earth, the teen knocking his head against the ground. Hiccup let out a wail and sat up, rubbing soothing circles to the back of his head. He raised his chin and glared across at the dragon, who was busy blasting a cobalt jet of flame into the shape of a circle around his scaly form. The dragon lowered his head and eyed Hiccup, a glower to his black optics, and growled throatily at the teen.

Hiccup parted his lips and turned his head, averting his gaze. He couldn't deny that he was feeling on edge at the moment, as if any little thing would set Toothless off. His shoulders sagged at the thought: having to be afraid of his best friend. It shouldn't have to be like this, Hiccup thought soberly, clenching his fists at his side.

'_We're supposed to be joined at the hip,'_ Hiccup thought, anchoring his gaze back on Toothless. The dragon snarled at the attention_. 'We're supposed to be flying over the ocean, eating fish, being lazy when we're supposed to be training."_

"I-I…" Hiccup began, tears welling at his eyes. He blinked them away and replaced them with a stern glare. The teen hurriedly got up and righted himself, never leaving Toothless' gaze. The dragon in questioned growled low at Hiccup's motions but remained within the center of his marked territory. "I hate this—I hate having you hate me."

Hiccup let loose a muttered scoff and took a step forward, flinching at the aggravated snarl emanating from Toothless. Hiccup managed to distract himself from the feral look in Toothless' eyes, the way the dragon gnashed his jagged teeth and how his optics narrowed into tapered slits. Hiccup nearly groaned at the sight, realizing that the stance was all too familiar; Toothless had been like that back when they first met, back when Hiccup had been about to plunge a dagger in the dragon's heart.

"I could take it from them, but I can't…I can't take it from you," Hiccup admitted, his face flushing. He had lived nearly his whole life being tormented by the villagers. They called him names, looked down upon him, heck, even his own dad had thought little of him—but Toothless, he hadn't done any of that. At first, the dragon had been hostile, but that had been expected, however when they both started warming up to each other, the rest was like a dream. They did everything together, from flying through the fluffiest wisps of cloud, to lazing the day away in front of a warm fire—Toothless had never judged him, never left his side.

He had made Hiccup feel wanted, loved. They had a connection, he and Toothless, a forbidden friendship that literally tested the bonds of time, and they had both stared death in the face.

"What did I do?" Hiccup cried, stepping closer towards Toothless. The dragon let loose a mighty roar, the shock of the sound startling the teen. Toothless raised on his haunches, spindly hide raised upright while his tail thwacked the earth. Despite the warnings, Hiccup trudged on until he was standing right outside the dragon's marked territory. He was at least two feet away from the Night Fury, so close that he could feel Toothless' warm breath fan across his face. Hiccup sighed, his cheeks flushing, and fluttered his eyes. Hiccup raised his hand and inched it towards the dragon's snout and before he could touch the scaly skin, Hiccup was knocked backwards, the wind knocked out of him.

Toothless stared down at Hiccup, who sat wide-eyed and motionless on the ground. The teens mouth hung agape as he nursed his stomach, quivering eyes planted firmly on Toothless. The dragon snarled, thumping his tail threateningly against the ground.

Couldn't Hiccup understand that Toothless did not want the boy near him at all? Clearly he could have comprehended that, by all means, Hiccup was a smart boy, but hadn't he seen the mark?

It was not to be crossed.

Toothless removed himself from the shoddily drawn circle and padded towards the downed boy, who began to shuffle backwards.

"Stop, I'm sorry!"

The tone of Hiccup's voice shouldn't have affected him so, but it had nonetheless. It was the noted fear in the teen's voice that caused Toothless to snarl in aggravation—he'd never heard Hiccup sound like that before, at least not towards him. Nevertheless, Toothless continued on, wedged head lowered to the ground as he prowled about the young Viking.

Hiccup deserved to feel that way, Toothless reasoned, sneaking a glance at his tail. If it hadn't been for Hiccup, Toothless would still be gliding about the air, free to do as he pleased, reveling in the feel of the wind against his scales, how it shuddered against his great wings- but he couldn't. In order to fly like he used to, he had to have a human ride him. It was demeaning, even thinking about it made Toothless' lips curl in rage. Anger licked at the pit of his stomach, steam rising from his nostrils as he bared his teeth at the trembling boy. This tiny diminutive thing, this pitiable excuse for a Viking deserved to be wiped from existence, but even Toothless wouldn't go as far as doing something so dreadful. He probably would have a long time ago before he met Hiccup, but not now, when he still felt some emotional attachment to the boy though it was fast dwindling as each day passed. Toothless surmised by the end of the year, he'd leave the island somehow, just so he wouldn't have to face the freckled boy who had downed him.

Meanwhile, Hiccup's mind was in a frenzied state. His thoughts were jumbled all over the place, an array of emotions flitting past his eyes. He didn't know whether to feel taken aback or livid at Toothless for swiping at his stomach. The blow had surprised the young Viking until he was left a heaping pile of bewilderment on the earthy floor. Never in the time he knew Toothless had the dragon harmed him in any way.

Hiccup's eyes widened, Toothless' glowering gaze scrutinizing the teen.

Toothless had intended to harm him- on purpose. Hiccup downed his head, wisps of hair brushing across his forehead. No, this was impossible, Toothless wouldn't harm him! Even if the dragon wasn't exactly on friendly terms with the boy, Toothless wouldn't intentionally harm him in any way. Hiccup refused to believe it, he tried pushing the terrible thought to the back of his mind, but the more he let it fester, the more frightened he became. And then, he realized something.

If Toothless could swipe painfully at his stomach on purpose, the dragon could do much worse… on purpose. Hiccup let out a faint gasp and raised his head, catching the impassioned glare of the Night Fury in front of him. The Night Fury whose nostrils were pulled into a flare, who had tendrils of smoke and flame leaking out his snarled lips, whose teeth gnashed together in rage. For the first time since that day he first met the dragon, Hiccup was scared—utterly and completely scared. And Toothless for one, seemed to sense this. Hiccup's breathing became ragged and his heart palpitated at a progressing speed, sweat leaking down his temples and pooling at the crevice of his collarbone. The Night Fury fed on the Viking's fear, practically lapped it up until he could feel it dancing languidly on his tongue.

"Get away from me."

The dragon wasn't expecting that.

Still nursing his bruised stomach, Hiccup quickly dug the heels of his boots into the ground and scuffled backwards, his fingers dashing madly through the compacted earth. The teen hastily picked himself up and backed away, parting his lips and taking a deep inhale of air.

"I'm done," Hiccup breathed, his vision going blurry. He couldn't believe what he was saying, couldn't even fathom why he would. A numbing shudder took over his body as he tried to think of his next sentence. "I don't wanna' do this anymore." And with that, Hiccup whirled around and sprinted off.

Toothless stared at the ground and snorted triumphantly.

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**A/N: hahhhhhh. I'm such a douche. Please review! :3**


	8. Stuck

**A/N: Holy shit, sooooo sorry for taking so long to update this thing. Thanks for those of you who have reviewed and put this on your alerts/faves. I really, really appreciate it. :D**

**The song I was listening to when I was writing this was Alohomora by Pogo, just thought you'd wanna' know. Or not. Hm.**

**CHAPTER 8**

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Hiccup awoke to silence.

He gently sat himself up in bed and blearily looked about his room, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He yawned and shuffled the coverlet off him and threw his legs over the edge of his bed, his bare feet turning numb as they registered with the cold floor beneath.

He wondered why his eyes were sore and he tried to think back to what he was doing the night before, until yesterday's events seemed to pound into him like the thrashing waves lining the island. Toothless had snarled at him, and if that didn't make things worse, the dragon had literally slammed him to the ground—it had been like a dream, some horrible, horrible nightmare that he never wanted to take part in again, but with a wracking shudder that quickly took hold of his body, Hiccup realized this was all too real.

He had cried himself to sleep last night, he thought disconcertingly, his cheeks flushing at the thought. If his dad ever found out that he had been crying himself silly, over a dragon no less, he'd surely be the laughing stock of the village.

Hiccup sighed and stood up, stretching his limbs about him until he felt lax and limber, and shuffled across the expanse of his room, hurriedly kicking on his boots. He didn't feel like staying in today, he thought solemnly, changing into a fresh tunic. If he stayed slinking away in his bedroom, he knew he'd have a difficult time coping with the decision he had made the day before, and the circumstance of it all would be wracking his brain senseless until he'd either succumb to an anxiety attack, or hole himself up in his room for the entire three weeks the village was gone.

He couldn't have that.

He had made a choice, however difficult it had been, and he wasn't going to go back on his decision. For all those months, he had been hanging from a loose thread, not even that—a tendril, and he had denied his rapidly failing friendship with his dragon, had wished with all his might that they would continue to stay friends for as long as time allowed them, but unfortunately, that wouldn't come to pass.

Their friendship had ended prematurely.

"I was a loser before I met Toothless," Hiccup breathed. "And I'm a loser even now." He couldn't even keep a friendship with a dragon, an animal, a beast! That was pathetic, he thought sourly.

The young Viking scowled, jade green eyes glassing over—he wasn't going to let himself succumb to depression, or whatever people sunk into when a tragedy happened, though this particular situation wasn't exactly a tragedy per se, it certainly was devastating enough. Toothless had made his verdict long ago and Hiccup was done trying to mend whatever had broken between them. He still felt as if there was a gaping hole where his heart should have been, but surely, if he took his mind off the dilemma and idled his time wisely by distracting himself, he'd be able to move on to a more brighter future, preferably one free from the looming threat of scorned, downed dragons.

He had his doubts, and it wasn't going to be easy letting Toothless go, but somehow he would manage.

He'd make it happen. He could always make friends with other dragons, and though they would never compare to Toothless or would in no way replace the Night Fury, he'd at least feel valuable again.

And with a small smile, Hiccup trotted out his bedroom door and headed downstairs, already feeling a thousand times lighter.

* * *

It seems that light feeling didn't last very long, for Hiccup already had a frown marring his face.

He stood loping about the Town Square, hands placed at his hips as he looked about the village with imploring eyes. He had no idea what he was going to busy himself with for the next three weeks, and already he was wishing he had taken heed to Astrid's advice and gone to the summit anyway.

He was sure kicking himself now.

"No Toothless, no Astrid, no nothing!" he growled, kicking at a loose cobble stone. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't go fishing everyday, that would only get really, really boring, and he couldn't tinker away in Gobber's shop, for the blacksmith had hidden all his tools and materials in some remote location unknown to Hiccup, as he did every time he had to leave the shop for an unforeseen amount of time.

'_Since Toothless has that stone wall as his new hiding place now, I guess I can claim the grotto as my own,_' he thought suddenly, a grin alighting his face. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad; he could always spend his time at the grotto sketching or swimming, or possibly even camp out there when he didn't want to be alone at home! He could even hike about the island and explore, like he used to do before he ever even met Toothless!

"I'll show him," he muttered to himself, blowing his auburn fringe away from his eyes. He stared up at the bright blue sky, watching as a bird hastily sped across his line of vision, and suddenly, he didn't feel so cheerful anymore. Watching the bird drift away left a nagging feeling inside him, as if he had left something unattended, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint what. The bird reminded him of Toothless, and as long as he still thought about the dragon, he didn't think he'd ever feel truly at ease.

* * *

"Satchel, check."

Hiccup strapped the makeshift bag composed of deerskin around his shoulder, where it thudded mildly against his side. He had packed it with two canteens of water, five loafs of bread, two blocks of cheese and a pound of dried meat, enough food for a day's worth of hiking. He could always go fishing as well, just like he used to do with Toothless- .

Hiccup dropped his arms by his sides and stood stock still, his gaze going adrift. He had to stop thinking about Toothless! He had to stop reminiscing and letting his mind daydream, for his thoughts always seemed to stray to the Night Fury who now scorned him. Hiccup shook his head and straightened himself.

"Knife, check. Flint, double check. Sketchbook…crap, that's the most important thing!"

The whole reason for his sudden expedition was to sketch any new findings and discoveries he would make during his little excursion, like the good old times. Maybe he'd come across a new species of bird, or possibly even a mountain troll or some other mythical creature Gobber was always talking about. Hiccup quickly trampled across his room and dropped to the floor, eyes hungrily searching underneath his bed. He had kicked his sketchbook underneath the bed last night in a fit of rage, and he was glad he remembered doing so. He snatched at the pad and stuffed it inside his satchel, along with a piece of charcoal that was strewn alongside the frame of his bed.

Once his supplies were all gathered and neatly packed in his satchel, Hiccup sauntered out his bedroom and down the stairs.

He'd enjoy himself, one way or another.

* * *

Hiccup rubbed at his forehead with his clothed arm, dabbing at the beads of sweat that had accumulated underneath his fringe. Brushing past a mix of dense shrubbery and leafy branches, Hiccup managed to steady himself upright by leaning against a thick tree trunk, his breath coming out in short gusts as he tried to calm his breathing. The teen twisted his body and brought his satchel to the forefront, hastily unlatching it and digging through its contents until he withdrew with a canteen. He uncapped the bottle and pressed it to his lips, relief flooding his insides when the cool flow of water washed through his mouth and trickled down his throat. He felt less parched as he had been, and after spending three hours trekking through the forest, occasionally stopping to jot something down in his journal, Hiccup's stomach was terribly hungry. He stared down at his abdomen and grimaced.

He felt on a roll, as if he just couldn't stop. He felt that if he stopped now, something horrible would happen and bring him down from the high he had brought on himself. However, his body came first and if it wanted to eat, then so be it.

Hiccup piqued his head and scanned his surroundings, eyes alighting with content when he found a small clearing just a little ways ahead of him. He stomped towards the clearing and swiftly took a seat on a fallen log, twisting his satchel about him and setting the bag on his lap. He unlatched it and broke off a piece of bread and a sizeable hunk of cheese. Taking a huge bite of bread, he popped some cheese into his mouth and chewed greedily, letting the food slide down his throat. He felt relief instantly flood him and his stomach seemed to stop garbling for food.

Absentmindedly chewing at his food, Hiccup stared up at the bright blue sky, squinting his eyes when a filtered ray of sunlight shone down across his face. The sun was brighter now and much harsher than it had been in the morning. An hour into his expedition, he had rolled the sleeves of his tunic past his elbows until they were nearly by his shoulders, leaving his creamy skin exposed to the brutal sting of the sun; he didn't mind it though, he could use a nice tan.

He wondered what Toothless was doing now—was he sleeping the day away in that new cave of his, or was he exploring the island as well, or perhaps—no.

"I have to stop this!" Hiccup growled through a mouthful of food, his teeth gritting together. He took one final bite of his bread and popped the last piece of cheese into his mouth, before taking a swig of water from the canteen. After packing the canteen away, Hiccup stood and stretched his limbs, lifting his arms high above his head.

With one last look at the clearing, Hiccup continued onward.

* * *

He didn't know how many hours had passed since his last rest stop, but he was sure feeling the effects. His limbs were tired and sore, and his lips felt dry, as dry as his tongue felt. He'd need to stop and refresh himself before he even thought about continuing on.

He plundered through the dense shrubbery laid out in front of him, the occasionally jutting branch sliding against his cheek and nicking his skin. He grimaced, but trekked on, desperate to find a clearing or a suitable boulder to camp on.

In the next instant, he felt as if he were walking on air, and he could feel gravity catching up with him, sending him plummeting an unknown distance. He fell and fell, and finally, when he thought it might never end, his back hit the ground with a sickening thud.

The wind ultimately knocked out of him, Hiccup wheezed and struggled to sit up, his spine tingling along the length of his back. The lower half of his body felt momentarily numb, before feeling started trickling its way gradually along his limbs, and boy, did it hurt. A numbing sting of pain spread across his lower back, making it hard for him to prop himself up.

He finally managed to open his eyes. He looked about him and all he could see was dirt, dirt, and more dirt. It looked as if a shroud of dirt was surrounding him, encasing him in on all sides, and for a moment, he felt his breath hitch. The lighting was meager, and as he looked up, he could see stray rays of sunlight poking down from up above.

He didn't know why, and he didn't know how, but he seemed to be in some sort of burrow, or a ditch, or something. It looked to be about 15 feet deep, and he realized that it wasn't too high—it was something he could climb out of. He looked up once more and his optimistic thoughts immediately vanished.

His prosthetic limb was tangled about a tree root, dangling about 12 feet above the ground.

"No," he whispered, dragging himself along the compact earth. Without his prosthetic, he couldn't stand, so he'd have to settle with crawling along the ground. "No, no, no, no, no."

Hiccup clawed at the wall of dirt, his fingers gouging into the soil until he could feel it clumping underneath his fingernails. He desperately tried to hoist himself up, managing to unsteadily balance himself on one leg, but when he managed to snag a tumbling tree root, it snapped and sent him rocketing to the floor once again. Lying back on his elbows, Hiccup huffed and tried to calmly inhale a wad of air, all the while staring up at the sky with a glower to his eyes.

This couldn't be happening.

There was no way in hell this could be happening.

He was left alone for three weeks and already he somehow managed to get himself stuck in a ditch too high for him to climb out of.

"Greeeeat," he hissed, smacking the palm of his hand down against the earth. A spray of dirt launched from the movement and he found himself inhaling dirt particles. He choked and hastily unlatched his satchel, immediately groping for the canteen. With a flip of the lid, he brought the bottle to his lips and guzzled down some water.

He was alone. The rest of the village was gone and Toothless was mad at him…and he was alone. This wasn't a good situation to be in, not a good one at all. What if he cried for help, surely Toothless would hear him, right? Did he mention that he was alone?

But Toothless didn't want anything to do with him anymore and the dragon didn't know about Hiccup's impulsive expedition. The Night Fury would never think to look here, even if he somehow scouted him out.

"I'm gonna' die," Hiccup whispered frantically, pressing a hand to his chest. He clutched at his heart. "I'm gonna' die and no one's gonna' know, and I'm going to rot in here, and they're never gonna' find me, and…"

"I have to get out," he cried. He sat himself up and dragged himself along the ground, hoisting himself up once more as he gripped at the dirt wall. He grabbed at a jutting piece of rock and placed his good leg in an indent along the wall, heaving himself up. When he didn't seem to teeter and fall back, Hiccup repeated the pattern until there was nothing left to grip at. "No, no, no. No!"

The clump of dirt he was holding onto crumbled underneath the added pressure and Hiccup felt himself slipping. He slid down along the wall and landed on his backside once more, gazing pitifully up at the patch of sky staring back down at him. It seemed to beckon him, the sky, teasing him and mocking him and doing all sorts of mean and nasty things.

"This sucks, this sucks, this sucks, this sucks," he chanted, averting his eyes from the sky up above. He couldn't stand to look at it now, not when he felt so hopeless. "HELP!" He screamed and shrieked, thudding his fists against the walls that surrounded him like a cage. He yelled until his throat felt raw and sore, screamed until all that came out was garbled and clipped sounds, a primitive way of calling for help, but his last resort.

"TOOTHLESS! HELP!" he cried once more, his voice tapering away. "Help…"

Hiccup stilled and leaned against the dirt wall, sliding his back alongside it as he hastily thumped to the ground.

He was a lost cause, he was sure of it.

* * *

It was dark out.

Toothless blearily opened his eyes, the dark settling in around his vision until his eyes adjusted and he could finally make out the small figure of a Terrible Terror scuttling about in front of him. Toothless snorted and the tiny dragon yipped and turned around, cocking its tiny head at the Night Fury. The miniature dragon hunched its wings and shuffled its way towards the mouth of the cave, undoubtedly spooked, and flew away, disappearing into the night. Toothless snarled and flapped an ear, letting a yawn take hold of him.

And then he realized something daunting.

His supply of cod was completely gone—all that was left were the bones. The Night Fury growled in rage, fluttering his wings in anger. The Terror had gone and eaten all of it, all of it! Toothless raised himself on his haunches, a glower to his yellow eyes, and trotted towards the mouth of the cave, peeved beyond reason. He didn't like the prospect, but he'd have to venture to the reserve and snag whatever fish remained there. It wasn't exactly the freshest option, but he was hungry after waking up from such a long slumber and he wasn't looking forward to catching fish in the grotto.

With an aggravated snarl, Toothless spread his wings and leaped into the air, semi-gliding his way towards the direction of the village.

* * *

Toothless landed expertly on the rim of the basin that acted as the dragons' reserve, finding it empty. It seemed that the Terrible Terrors had bested him once more. The Night Fury snorted, tendrils of smoke escaping his nostrils, before he turned round and leapt off. He was hungry and his stomach was growling, and he didn't want to admit it, but he was hungry enough to raid Hiccup's home, since the Mess Hall was pretty much locked and dragon-proofed.

Hiccup was most likely tucked away in his bedroom, too afraid to wander about the depths of his home at night, alone. If Toothless knew Hiccup, he knew that's exactly what the boy would be doing at this point; cowering away under some blanket. Toothless leisurely strode through the empty streets, the end of his tail trailing across the cobble-lined ground. When Hiccup's hut came into view, the dragon's stomach grumbled.

He then halted, sensing something amiss. Hiccup's door was pried open and there was no light on. Toothless plundered forward, his steps hesitant and careful, and when he heard a sound resound from within the hut, the dragon let loose a gust of fire that briefly illuminated the inside of the abode.

The Night Fury growled when a trickle of Terrors came pouring out from Hiccup's house, morsels of bread and cheese stuffed between their teeth. One Terror yipped teasingly at Toothless, a piece of meat dangling from its mouth, before flapping its wings and flying away.

It was strange, because Toothless didn't pay attention to the Terrors' besting him once again.

The dragon was more aggravated by the fact that Hiccup's home seemed to be deserted. Terrors were known for being loud and boisterous, surely Hiccup would have heard them? With an irritated grunt,, Toothless leapt from where he stood and gouged at Hiccup's window frame, hoisting his mighty girth until he sat wedged halfway through Hiccup's window.

The teen's room was empty and his scent was hours old. Toothless tried to ignore the swell of panic that burbled at the pit of his stomach, and he hastily blamed it on his lack of a hearty meal. Hiccup was a curious creature, but rarely was he adventurous, at least not enough to venture on his own during the night.

Where could he be? Toothless withdrew from the window and jumped down, landing on all fours, before he slowly scented the premise. Hiccup's scent was faint and stale, as if he hadn't been at the village all day—Toothless wouldn't know, it wasn't like he kept tabs on the teen, not how he used to.

The dragon tried to thrust all thoughts of Hiccup from his mind, but something didn't seem right, at least not this time.

Toothless growled and slinked away towards the direction of the forest- it was his best bet.

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**A/N: When I'm finished with this story, and I don't know when that'll be, I have two bonus/alternative chapters to post, so that should be super, duper fun.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading and sticking with this ANGSTY story. I recently discovered my love for angst, so yehhh. Please leave a review on your way out! :D**


	9. Explosion

**TWEEKERZ A/N: **

**- HOW WAS EVERYONE'S THANKSGIVING? Mine was bomb! I ate turkey, potato salad, pumpkin and apple pie, baked potatoes, cookies, ham, pizza, mac n' cheese, cheesecake, tamales, empinadas, stuffing, apple cider and menudo! Yum! Happy Belated Thanksgiving everybodyyy. And Happy Holidays!**

**- That aside, all right, so this time I didn't take such a long-ass-mother-fucking-time to update! I'm fucking cereal! I'm such a procrastinator I'm not even kidding. I tick myself off sometimes, agh! D: **

**- For all the people that have reviewed this little story and added it to their alerts/favs, I thank you all sooooooo effing much! I'm glad you all enjoy the angst and Toothless' shitty behavior towards such a sweet, sweet boy like Hiccup. It's rather strange…I usually make shitty stuff happen to innocent characters. Hah! I'm a sadist like that! Haha! Why am I laughing!**

**- I was listening to The Time (Dirty Bit) by Black Eyed Pease when I was writing this, if you wanted to know. I find stuff like that interesting when an author lists it, but iono, that's just me being a lamer. There are certain songs that I type to and usually the fast paced ones are the songs that really get me typing super duper fast. CUZ I'M. HAVING. A GOOD. TIME. WITH YOU!**

**- Anyway, thanks! Please read, enjoy, and review! Review! Ole, ole! Tamale!**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Hiccup sat slouched against the dirt wall, the occasional spindly twig poking into his back. His chest was heaving and his breath was coming out in short gusts of air. He brought up his hand and swiped his palm across his forehead, grimacing when random dirt clods fell from in between his fingers and smeared across his face. He felt filthy and grimy, and the sweat beading down the sides of his face and down his neck didn't add to the situation. He had been spending the better half of two hours trying to claw his way out of the ditch that held him captive, however all attempts at escape had been futile.

"Dammit!" Hiccup cursed, pounding his fist into the ground. He bit at his lip and thumped the back of his head against the dirt wall, his eyes fluttering shut as he tried to calm himself. He felt frustrated and how he wouldn't give to punch something—anything to make the circumstances better than they currently were. His food supply was also slowly dwindling; he had come down to the last block of cheese, a thin strip of dried meat and a half loaf of bread- Hiccup decided that he'd have to ration his food. Thankfully, there was still a canteen of water left and if he only ate small portions from the meat, cheese and bread, it should last him for another two days tops.

"But where will I be in two days time?" he grumbled to himself, furrowing his brow. What if Toothless never found him? What if the dragon didn't make it in time? "If he even notices I'm gone."

Hiccup's heart sunk at the thought. He tried convincing himself that there was still some spark of hope he had left for the dragon, that Toothless would eventually notice his absence and come looking for him, but the more he pondered, the less confident he became. Toothless hated him now; there was no way in hell the dragon would scout him out. Even if he did, Toothless would never make it in time.

Hiccup shook his head and swiped the fringe from his face, mussing the dirty strands of auburn hair about his sweaty forehead. He had to stop thinking like that! If he only thought negatively, who knows what kind of funk he'd get himself into? He'd lose all hope, that's for sure, and he wasn't about to give up yet.

Hiccup titled his head up and stared at the darkening sky above. Night would be falling in another three hours, give or take, and if he didn't get himself out by then, he'd have to face spending the night. Hiccup sighed and rolled down the sleeves of his tunic, a course shiver wracking through his body. The air seemed to be more frigid and chill in the shade of the ditch, and the occasional harsh gust of wind only made him colder.

Speaking of ditches…

"Who made this thing?" he whispered. The walls surrounding him were crudely made and littered with deep gouges; the walls were not entirely straight either. Hiccup ruled out the theory of a human having made it, so could an animal have? Hiccup frowned, a small shiver traveling up his spine. No, there wasn't an animal on the island that could dig a burrow this deep and this wide, unless you took the dragons into account, but none of them ever exhibited this type of behavior. When the dragons integrated with the people of the village, Stoik had implanted a strict diet for the winged creatures to prevent future squabbles: they would eat fish and other marine creatures from the reserve, with an occasional feeding of leftover deer and fowl from the mess hall. Since that ruling, and through Hiccup's guidance, the dragons hadn't stolen anything from the village, not even a single sheep! Since the village was feeding them daily, the dragons felt no need to scourge for food like they used to. Taking that into consideration, why would any of them feel the need to seize prey in the forest?

Besides, Toothless never dug 15-foot-deep craters, not that Hiccup knew of anyway.

Unless an animal bigger than Hiccup dug it.

Unless this ditch was some sort of clever trap to catch unsuspecting prey.

Unless he was the main course.

"Damn," he hissed, widening his eyes as he stared frantically towards the sky. Whatever made this ditch would surely be coming sooner or later. "Crap, crap, crap! What should I do? Should I yell or—no, that would only attract predators. Um, oh Gods, um, uhhhh. No!"

Hiccup frantically pulled at his hair, tapping his forefinger against his temple. "Think, think, think!"

Hiccup stood up then, his equilibrium a bit wobbly with only one foot to balance his weight upon, and clasped his grimy hands behind his back, leaning his back against the dirt wall. If his hunches were correct, and most likely they were, Hiccup needed to find a way to escape, and fast. Whatever dug the burrow was bound to come back and check up on it, and he really didn't want to stick around when that happened. He turned round and placed his forehead against the soil and let out a shuddery breath. Placing a hand against the wall, Hiccup gripped the dirt and looked up, determination glinting in his eyes.

He was going to get out, one way or another.

Drawing away from the wall, Hiccup placed himself at the center and further observed the burrow. He hadn't had a chance to study his makeshift prison- he had been far too busy trying to claw his way out. The soil was too loose for him to get a handle on anything sturdy enough to haul himself up, and many of the tree roots poking out on all sides of the burrow were too brittle and thin for him to hold onto. Perhaps if he were to purposefully collapse one side of the ditch…?

"Yeah!" Hiccup quipped, a smile worming its way across his lips. If he continued to gouge at one side of the burrow, he could somehow collapse that part of the wall, enough to give him a slope to climb over. If he angled this right, he could possibly escape with his life intact! All he'd have to do was get out of the way in time when that part of the wall collapsed. With hope resonating in his body, Hiccup immediately began to set to work, his fingers gouging into the dirt and soil in front of him, but before he could get any further, Hiccup halted. He immediately dropped his hands, entranced by the single trail of wispy smoke slowly trickling from a meager hole in the wall. The teen raised an eyebrow, jade eyes quivering in panic, before taking a shaky step back.

Okay, that wasn't right. Why was the wall smoking?

Hiccup landed on his backside when a bit of the wall began to crumble, dirt and soil sliding away to reveal a shallow cave roughly the length of himself. The fissure was dark, so dark that Hiccup could hardly see inside it. The young Viking shuffled backward, the heel of his only foot digging into the dirt and gaining him leverage; he tried to ignore the dread churning at the pit of his stomach. The sinuous trail of smoke continued to leak from the cavern, tainting the air with a charred odor that Hiccup grimaced at.

Toothless' sonic blasts usually smelled like that.

Just when Hiccup was going to take another step closer, a set of luminous red eyes flashed from within the fissure, painting the surrounding area a candid vermilion color. The red optics were slanted and harrowed, staring back at Hiccup so venomously that he quivered on the spot, too terrified to scream, too afraid to move. The boy's limbs began to shake, his fingers jittering at his sides as he tried to swallow down the lump in his throat. His body was shaking so badly that his teeth began chattering, the occasional nip to the tongue causing him to squeal in pain.

When Hiccup felt balmy, bitter breathe fan across him, he screamed.

* * *

Toothless' body tensed, horned ears perking up at the shrill cry resounding across the forest. The Night Fury growled, a trail of steaming smoke escaping from his nostrils and mouth. That scream was familiar, a sound that always managed to instinctively set him attentive, which explained the intuitive build-up of fumes in his chest. The dragon trudged along the forest bottom, green optics narrowed and scanning the expanse of foliage ahead of him.

Two hours had passed since leaving the village and he had occasionally stopped to pounce upon an unsuspecting rabbit, chewing the small creature to bits in that powerful maw of his, before spitting the bones out. He wouldn't be surprised to find a trail of rabbit remains painting a path in his wake, but he really didn't care if he managed to stain the forest floor in carnage. During his trek, sometimes Toothless would find himself forgetting why he was even scourging the woodland in the first place, however, that scream managed to bring his earlier reasoning to the forefront.

Hiccup.

The Night Fury snarled at the name. It was very tempting to just forget about the boy and venture back to his cavern to sleep the rest of the day away. It wasn't his fault if Hiccup somehow allowed himself to get lost in the forest—Toothless was no babysitter, to a weakling Viking child at that! The very thought of it had the dragon barring his serrated teeth, a rumbling growl welling in his chest.

Still, that scream was rather interesting. Perhaps it was Hiccup?

Toothless raised his wedged head, ears twitching as he surveyed the forest. The scream had been faint, but if he guessed correctly, it had come from the other side of the island. The Night Fury huffed, thrashing his tail against the mossy earth. The dragon was at a standstill, something he wasn't quite used to doing as of late. Usually decisions regarding Hiccup were brief and simple: _leave the boy, ignore him, don't even look his way_. However, there was an instinctual nagging feeling clawing at the dragon's insides, something he couldn't quite shake off no matter how much he tried to push the sensation aside.

Another shriek bellowed from the forest, and that was all it took for Toothless' decision to be made.

* * *

Hiccup's mouth hinged open as he took a staggering step back, his back pressed flush against the opposite wall. The walls surrounding him shook with a vibration so jilting that dirt clods began raining down upon him, some rather compact clumps of soil smacking against his head.

With bated breath, Hiccup watched as a set of talons emerged from the fissure, their grooved ends gouging into the dirt. They looked sharp, too sharp for them to belong to just any regular island creature. If Hiccup were on the receiving end of those claws, he'd surely be ripped to shreds. Second by agonizing second, the claws clicked and fidgeted against themselves as a set of heavy paws creeped from the crevice, leathery skin tinged a peeling blood-red. The weighted haunches thumped against the earth as the beast slithered out, and Hiccup gasped at the unfamiliar creature before him.

The dragon's snout was narrow and dotted with sharp thorny spindles; each tipped with faded bloodstains. Hiccup knew it was no time for observations, but he surmised that the dragon used those spokes to his advantage when tearing into its prey, thus the stains. Its jaw was hinged open, revealing a set of notched teeth, plumes of smoke seeping from its throat. The beast was a bit bigger than Toothless, not as big as a Nightmare, but at least half its size. Its scaly body was long and slender, almost snake-like, and its tail tapered away into a tiny point, spikes speckled about its rear extremities. The feral fiend, jagged features and all, looked murderous and lethal, the type of dragon that Hiccup never wanted the misfortune to meet.

The young Viking stared across at the creature, his back leaning against the opposite wall. His heart was literally thrashing against his ribcage, threatening to burst free—he placed a hand to his chest, hoping it would quell its frantic beating. At the movement, the dragon growled, bright orange embers trickling from its mouth. Hiccup watched the cinders fall until they mingled with the earthy ground, alighting a stray dirt clod or two.

The boy gulped. This was an entirely different sort of beast, a dragon he was unfamiliar with. Could he even try to tame this creature? If it growled at insignificant movements, what would it do to him if he tried to stand?

Hiccup didn't even have time to decide when the dragon lunged.

The force of the jump (and its landing) literally shocked the earth, sending rocketing vibrations all across the viking's small frame. The dragon's rear talons managed to scrape against Hiccup's good leg as it landed, tearing his leggings in one clean rip. The rush of cool air against his now bare leg caused the boy to shiver, however the cold was least of his worries.

Hiccup stared up at the beast looming over him, anchoring his eyes on the dragon's harrowing glower. Goopy saliva dripped onto his chest, seeping into his tunic and running down his torso. The sensation was revolting, and if that wasn't disgusting enough, the creature's hot breath reeked of rotting fish and stale blood.

Just then, Hiccup realized something.

He was going to be eaten.

He was going to die.

Alone.

Kissing his life goodbye, Hiccup kicked at the dragon's underbelly with all the force he could muster, earning a pained yip from the beast above. With speed that astounded even himself, Hiccup shimmied out from underneath the dragon and slipped away, crawling on his hands and knee towards the opposite side of the burrow.

Hiccup never got that far.

The next instant, he was on his back, a searing pain burning into the flesh of his arm. Hiccup choked on his spit and let out a muffled scream, his terrified shrieks echoing into the night. His arm hurt so bad, so freaking, freaking bad. The boy clutched the appending to his chest, hesitant eyes scanning across the length of his arm.

The entire left sleeve of his tunic was completely ripped off, and what lay underneath nearly made him wretch. A jagged gash, just about the length of his arm, trailed down to his wrist, revealing serrated tissue and rivulets of goopy blood. The blood gushed out his arm, and he realized with horror that he could actually hear it plop onto the ground, further mixing with the soil. He stared in shock at his limb, too paralyzed in fear to even move, to even save himself.

He didn't notice the beast saunter towards him.

He didn't notice how his arm was now coated in a thick layer of vermilion, too unrecognizable to even be an arm anymore.

Hiccup laughed to himself, his vision blurring. He didn't even hear the outraged roar from up above.

The sky exploded.

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**A/N: Hiccup! Agh! Review!**


	10. Alone Again

**Tweekerz A/N:**

**-Thanks so much for all the kind reviews last chapter, there was 29 reviews in all! Yay! Seriously, I become a little less of a procrastinator with each review from you wonderful people. ;o;**

**-Uhh, here's the next one!**

* * *

**CHAPTER 10**

He was drifting in and out of consciousness, his head practically lolling about his shoulder, although astonishingly he vaguely managed to figure out what was going on around him, enough so that he could move out of harm's way when a haphazard sonic blast or a powerful thwack of a tail neared him. He felt heavy and slack, and he was about ready to just yield to the slumber that was progressively creeping up on him.

The concentrated pain in his arm managed to snap him out of his haze.

His arm throbbed at his side, hanging limp and useless as he scurried towards the opposite end of the ditch, his good leg scuffling along the earthy ground. He could feel the blood from his wound seep into the side of his tunic, staining the course fabric a dark red, an almost brackish color that smelled briny and bitter. His thoughts were boggling around in his mind: _**stop, slow down, why is everything spinning, **_but instead of paying heed to his brain, Hiccup pushed the thoughts aside and completely ignored them.

"Hahh," he groaned when a jutting piece of rock scraped along his open wound, nearly making his vision explode in white. He grit his teeth and let out a whimper, stomping his foot on the ground in hopes of distracting himself from the pain. Once he made it to the other side of the burrow, Hiccup smacked his back against the dirt wall and slumped down, gripping at his left arm and pressing the bleeding limb to his chest. The gash stung as a gust of hot wind ran along the injury, a blooming ache traveling up the length of his arm where it ended at his shoulder. Hiccup felt like screaming; he felt like belting out all sorts of slurs and profanities, anything to make the pain ebb away. Why wouldn't it just stop? _Stop bleeding, stop hurting._

A cloud of muck and rubble erupted from the center of the ditch, dirt clods and small pebbles of rock skipping about the air, some of the debris pelting at his exposed face. He grimaced and cursed when a stray pebble hit him upside the temple. Through squinted eyes, he stared at the scene taking place in front of him.

All he could make out were blasts of blue and red that clashed together ferociously, some of the frenzied flares fusing with one another and generating a color similar to amethyst. He could feel the powerful heat emanating from those blasts alone, and he dimly noted that these flashes of color that spelled out splendor and magic and all sorts of things unexplained, just so happened to be jets of sweltering fire, one stream belonging to the creature that had gnashed its teeth into his arm, and the other…

No, it was wishful thinking, a pipe dream that would never come true. How was he supposed to believe that Toothless was out there, battling against a creature he had no right to confront?

A piercing shriek echoed about the burrow, and this time it didn't belong to Hiccup. The force of the sound nearly blasted through the Viking's eardrums, leaving a slight ringing noise sounding in his head. With his right hand, his good hand, Hiccup frantically rubbed at his ears. With a few trembling breaths, he then rubbed at his eyes, his vision finally clearing.

It felt as if he were sitting on a cliff thousands of miles away as he watched the two creatures face each other off. The red fiend, the feral dragon that had injured him, stood off to the side, its flank raised high while the potent whip of its spiked tail thrashed side to side. Vapor was trailing from its raised nostrils, charred embers tumbling from its parted mouth. The sight was terrifying to behold, and Hiccup had the instinct to turn away from the creature.

However, when his gaze wavered and he anchored his eyes on the other beast…let's just say he couldn't quite look away. He was rendered speechless as he gazed upon the ruffled form of Toothless who was raised on his haunches, yellow-green eyes slanted into tapered slits while a feral snarl took hold of his mouth. His lower jaw was practically dripping with swirling rivulets of azure flame that trickled to the ground like water, setting fallen twigs and broken tree roots ablaze. Hiccup was mesmerized, entranced by the ethereal sight of those two great beasts standing amid the center, both clearly livid beyond belief.

Before he had time to even register anything else, the two dragons leapt at each other, both swiping with their mighty appendages. The red dragon managed to graze Toothless' cheek, the Night Fury letting out an irritated roar as he raked his talons along the other's face. The spiked dragon groaned and twisted away, using its snake-like body to slither to the side, thwacking its tail in retaliation. Toothless leapt away, snorting through his nostrils, before landing on all fours.

Hiccup watched as Toothless' underbelly heaved, the Night Fury's mouth parting to reveal a swirling inferno of bright blue flame. In a split second, the red dragon shifted its gaze and anchored it on Hiccup, a growl emanating deep from its throat.

Hiccup gasped and shuffled away, as much as his arm would allow it. He could practically feel the dragon's glower on him, as if it were stabbing into him, rendering him immobile. When the dragon quickly leapt from its place and slithered towards him, Hiccup let out a faint scream and threw himself out of the beast's trajectory, unfortunately landing on his injured arm. He yowled in pain, rolling onto his back and nursing his arm as he rocked side-to-side, huffs of breath leaving his mouth. Wrenching his eyes open, he saw the dragon get gradually near, until he could practically smell the dragon's breath once more.

'_I'm gonna' die_,' he thought morosely, his face paling, but before the dragon could even get to him, an explosion of vibrant blue light erupted throughout the vicinity, bathing the creature in a white-hot blaze. The dragon shrieked and slithered away, thumping its massive body against the earthy ground and occasionally smacking against the dirt walls surrounding it. The flame was still attacking its body, raging with such ferocity that Hiccup shut his eyes and looked away, still cradling his bleeding arm to his chest.

He shifted his head and watched as the dragon drunkenly continued to smack against the wall, until it let out one final roar and shot a an orange blast at the barricade. Dirt and rock melted away, revealing a sizeable hole, and the creature leapt through the fissure, tunneling its way through the earth until Hiccup could hear its cries of pain no more.

The teen breathed a sigh of reprieve, wiping at his forehead with his right arm. His chest was heaving and he was having a difficult time trying to school his breathing. He could still feel the slime of his blood coating his arm, seeping into the earth at his side. He felt dirty, sore, and tired, and he would have fallen asleep right there and then if it weren't for the soft snarl he heard in the distance.

Turning his head, he met the Night Fury's gaze head on. For that instant, Hiccup allowed himself to just stare at the dragon, a swell of emotion rising within him. Toothless averted his eyes, slit pupils anchoring elsewhere. Hiccup scowled and shut his eyes, a shaky sigh escaping his lips.

If it weren't for Toothless, Hiccup wouldn't have plundered the forest on his own, friendless and vulnerable, and thus ending up tattered and spooked.

But if it weren't for Toothless, he'd be dead right now.

Toothless snorted and pawed at the ground, smoke trailing from his mouth. The branches poking from the walls of the ditch were still alight with flame, acting as miniature torches. Hiccup breathed deeply and looked up at the sky, which was already starting to darken. Red and purple splotches of color battled against one another amid the atmosphere, the moon glowing with the waning light. The bottom of the burrow was entirely bathed in darkness, save for the flaming twigs and tree roots providing enough light for Hiccup to stare across at Toothless yet again, his gaze never wavering.

The Night Fury turned away and sniffed the air, the dragon's body stilling as the stench reached his nose. The place reeked with the coppery odor of fresh blood. Hiccup's blood.

His body protesting, Hiccup slowly sat up and propped himself against the wall, picking up a fallen branch that was still blazing with fire at its tip. He held it above his arm to inspect his wound, and what he saw made him jerk his head to the side and wretch. Vomit tumbled from his mouth and coated the dirt floor, the putrid smell of it causing him to wretch even harder.

"Oh God, oh God," he whispered frantically, dropping the flaming stick in terror. He put his good hand to his chest, trying to quell his rising dread. He gripped at the dirt wall, his fingernails gouging into the soil, and with strength unheard of, he pulled himself up, steadying himself along his one leg.

"It's deep, it's deep," he chanted, holding his arm out in front of him. He dry heaved. "Holy crap, holy shit, oh god." With a shaky hand, he quickly brushed at his mouth and spit out the foul taste of bile, tears stinging at his eyes. He blinked them away and breathed in deeply. It was much worse than he had thought, or maybe the blood only made it look that way?

His entire arm was stained pink, blood still oozing from the deep laceration. Every time he moved his arm, even more blood seeped from the wound. The torn flesh of the lesion was jagged and frayed, and dear God, he could actually see the tattered layers of tissue underneath his skin.

He had never received such a nasty looking abrasion, excluding his lost limb, but then he hadn't even been awake for the gritty details. He seriously needed to get to the village and mend it, less he catch some sort of lethal infection. He could always sneak into the Elder's hut and swipe the many medicinal herbs and remedies she had stored there. He'd feel guilty about it, but it had to be done.

Hiccup flexed his fingers, wincing as the skin around his wound stretched and pulled. It hurt to move his fingers, but at least they were moving. It wouldn't do to have to have his drawing arm out for the count. He'd surely be miserable then.

'_I can still move my arm, that's good. That's really, really good_,' he thought distractedly.

Hiccup was so busy surveying his arm that he momentarily forgot that Toothless was still in the vicinity. With a feeble gasp, Hiccup perked his head and stared across at the Night Fury. The teen was at a lost of what to do. He felt immensely grateful that the dragon had come to his rescue after all, saving him from what was sure to be a tragic death, yet however, the images of Toothless snarling at him, ignoring him for months on end, managed to stray Hiccup away from any thoughts of gratitude towards the beast that had ultimately saved his life yet again.

"Thanks…" Hiccup whispered breathily, wincing when a stabbing pain swelled from his wound. It was all he could say to the Night Fury that had shunned him so, because believe it or not, Hiccup was still holding a grudge against the dragon. He had every right to. He had spent countless many months trying to fix whatever had broken in their friendship, and eventually gaining nothing from his persistence…it had wounded him far more than he let on.

He wasn't ready to flank himself across Toothless' neck and whisper words of thanks and gratitude, such candy-coated phrases like "thank you buddy" or "that blast was pretty kick-ass". A simple thanks would suffice, because Hiccup wasn't going to dish out anything more than that.

Shaking himself from his musings, Hiccup decided that first and foremost, he was going to have to staunch the bleeding. Carefully, the boy grasped at the hem of his tunic with his free arm and managed to slowly drag it up his torso, where he eventually (and rather painfully) hauled it up and over his head. A bit of the ripped fabric caught on his wound and Hiccup cried out in pain, where he then clamped his mouth shut and breathed deeply from his nose. Once the garment was completely off, Hiccup grit his teeth and braced himself for what he was about to do.

Placing the tunic over his wound, the teen quickly added pressure and began wrapping the fabric round and round, grunting in pain every so often. When the cloth could wrap no more, Hiccup tucked the hanging end underneath the first layer, holding his arm aloft to inspect his work. The cloth would hold for now, but there was only so much time until the blood eventually bled through the fabric, rendering it useless. He had at least an hour.

Placing his arm gently by his side, Hiccup looked up and across at the dragon who stood beyond, the Night Fury's wings pressed to his back. The teen bit at his lip and awkwardly gripped the wall behind him, saving himself from almost teetering over.

Then a thought hit him: what if Toothless just left him there? Sure, the dragon had saved him from an impending doom, but who was to say that Toothless would have just up and left him there to fend for himself, now that the threat was temporarily gone. Hiccup knew that the other beast was still alive and kicking despite its horrendous injuries, he'd see the dragon again sooner or later.

But back to the question at hand. Hiccup gulped, pressing his back against the wall; surely Toothless wasn't as callous as to just…leave him there. The teen let out a chaste gasp, locking eyes with the dragon that was silently inspecting him.

Hiccup blanched when a wave of dizziness overcame him, causing him to tilt forward. He quickly caught a hold of himself and practically ground his back against the dirt wall. He felt as if his body was sinking into the earth, and if that wasn't cause for alarm, a blooming ache in his chest traveled down his body, his only leg throbbing in pain. He felt jittery and on edge, and he realized with much dread that he was having an anxiety attack.

'_Calm down, just calm down,_' he desperately thought, fighting another wave of vertigo. Hiccup panicked, not at all used to the dizzying sensation. '_Please, please, let me stay- .'_

Hiccup felt his breath slow, his chest painfully heaving at the lack of oxygen. _I can't breath, I can't breath. Why can't I breath?_

His vision went entirely black.

* * *

Toothless watched the boy plop to the ground face-first, the teen's face mussing against the dirt. The dragon snorted and flared his wings, sinking his talons into the earth. The Night Fury was aggravated beyond belief. The air was practically saturated with the stench of Hiccup's blood, so much so that the dragon could practically taste it on his tongue. A year previous, the stench would have been pleasing, welcoming even, but all it did was unnerve him.

Toothless surveyed the earthen ground, grimacing at the mixture of blood and soil. Toothless slinked his way around the fallen Viking, contemplating whether to leave him or not—he growled and rolled his eyes. The ditch was much too steep for Hiccup to climb out of, not to mention the teen's lack of a prosthesis, which by the way was still dangling from a tree branch up above. If Toothless left him there, Hiccup would surely die.

Useless boy, Toothless snarled, halting right in front of Hiccup. The Night Fury raised a paw and nudged at the boy's shoulder, growling when Hiccup failed to respond. Toothless nudged at the teen yet again, this time with a little more force. Hiccup only managed to flop over, the front of his body now facing the sky. Toothless flinched when he saw Hiccup's face. The boy's face was littered with small scratches, some merely grazing the top of the skin, some deep enough to draw blood. Hiccup's cheeks were pale and caked with mud, a mixture of blood and soil no doubt, and the boy's clothes were ripped and tattered, some of the fabric only hanging by mere threads.

He continued to nudge and paw at the boy, as if Hiccup would magically spring to life, his injuries healed and long forgotten.

That didn't happen.

Toothless' ears lowered, a low whine emitting from his throat.

_Wake up_, the dragon growled, prodding at Hiccup's abdomen with the tip of his tail. _Wake up, wake up, wake up. _He continued to poke and prod at the lifeless teen, his nudges growing frantic when Hiccup did absolutely nothing in response. In that moment of time, a desperate bleat emanated from the dragon, a dash of fear lapping at his insides.

Hiccup couldn't be dead, no, that wasn't possible. Toothless had traveled from practically the opposite part of the island in search of the fleshling, had saved him no doubt, only to have the boy die in the end?

No.

Hiccup should be groveling at the dragon's feet, pressing kisses of gratitude to his muzzle. The boy shouldn't be like this, plastered about the ground, his body limp and unmoving.

_Hiccup get up_.

The ground was for snakes and rabbits and insignificant little bugs; Hiccup was supposed to be standing upright like he should be, towering above them all.

_Hiccup wake up._

No, not like this, anything but this.

_Hiccup. Wake. Up._

The Night Fury lowered his head and pressed the rounded end of his nose to the boy's chest. It felt as if a tidal wave of relief washed through the dragon, blanketing him in every possible way. The light fluttering of Hiccup's heart was enough to sate him, so were the boy's deliberate breaths, so sluggish that even with the dragon's superior hearing, someone would literally have to press themselves against the teen's chest just to check if he was alive or not.

Toothless tried to quell the happy yip that accidentally escaped from his throat, but with no one around to hear, especially not Hiccup's motionless form, the dragon didn't particularly care. Drawing away, Toothless huffed in exasperation and smacked the boy with the end of his tail. _Idiot._

Hiccup was still alive, just unconscious. Toothless had the sense to know the boy was suffering from blood loss, a rare occurrence among brawny Vikings, and if he remembered correctly, it usually signified illness or impending death. The dragon's wings flared at the realization.

He'd have to get Hiccup to the village, and fast.

* * *

He felt like he was floating, and then he was sinking and sinking and sinking, and then nothing.

Hiccup shot straight up with a start, clutching at his heaving chest with his good arm. He frantically surveyed his surroundings, his panic gradually subsiding when he realized he was laying half way across the threshold to his house. He felt stiff and sore, and when he rubbed at his face and his hand came away with a sticky red residue that didn't feel like dirt at all, Hiccup grimaced.

He stilled.

Hadn't he been in that ditch when he so embarassingly fainted?

"Toothless," he whispered, wincing when he accidentally shifted awkardly on his injured arm. Hiccup continued to scan the premise, hoping to see a flare of dragon wings or the end of a tail shuffling behind a house, but all he could see were cobble-lined streets and huts, huts, and more huts. There was no sign of the Night Fury anywhere. It was deadly quiet, Hiccup noted, rubbing the pad of his fingers along the length of his wrapped arm.

He slumped his shoulders in defeat, fluttering his eyes shut. The teen breathed through his nose, trying to suppress the well of disappointment blooming within him. He felt hollow, the sensation quickly overwhelming the physical pain he could feel in his arm.

So Toothless had unceremoniusly dumped him off at the village and fled.

Hiccup sighed.

He should have known better.

* * *

**- Oh! OuO**

**- Anxiety attacks are no fun at all. I suffered with them for a couple of months, succumbing to attacks at least once every day. Totally tired me out. Sucked sooooo bad. But now I've learned to control them, and I don't get 'em anymore! :D**

**- Another thing. When characters in movies or books get seriously injured, they act as if its nothing. I'd be freaking-the-fuck-out!**

**- Until next time! Please leave a review!**


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